Eclipse: the Celestial Phenomenon That Changed the Course of History.Duncan Steel Astronomer Steel blends historical anecdote with scientific data to provide a comprehensive look at eclipses. For instance, he recounts the story of how Christopher Columbus convinced Jamaican chieftains to continue to supply his crew by telling them the gods would punish them if they withheld the goods. Columbus knew an eclipse was to occur within a couple of days and used it as a warning of this impending im·pend intr.v. im·pend·ed, im·pend·ing, im·pends 1. To be about to occur: Her retirement is impending. 2. punishment. It worked. The Jamaicans kept Columbus and his crew going for another 4 months. For many ancient people, these celestial events were met with dread and viewed as a sign of doom. For scientists, especially in modern times, eclipses have provided keen insights into the mechanisms of the cosmos. The eclipse of 1919 even helped Albert Einstein prove a key point of his general theory of relativity Noun 1. general theory of relativity - a generalization of special relativity to include gravity (based on the principle of equivalence) Einstein's general theory of relativity, general relativity, general relativity theory . Steel considers lunar and solar eclipses Selected solar eclipses, past and future. Antiquity Date of eclipse Time (UTC) Type Central Duration (*) Eclipse Path Notes Start Mid End June 24, 1312 BCE - 10:44 - total 04m33s Anatolia Mursili's eclipse , as well as eclipses involving stars, planets, asteroids This is a list of numbered minor planets, nearly all of them asteroids, in sequential order. As of late September 2007 there are 164,612 numbered minor planets, and many more not yet numbered. Most asteroids are ordinary and not particularly noteworthy. , comets, distant galaxies, and quasars Proper naming of quasars are by Catalogue Entry, Qxxxx±yy using B1950 coordinates, or QSO Jxxxx±yyyy using J2000 coordinates. This page lists quasars.
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